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Burma govt admits attack on Kachin rebels

Burma's military has used jets to attacks rebel fighters in northern Kachin state, the government said on Thursday.

Rebel sources have reported aerial bombings, shelling and even the use of chemical weapons since December 28 after the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) ignored an ultimatum to stop blocking an army supply route.

Official newspapers said air support was used on December 30 to thwart KIA fighters who had occupied a hill and were attacking the military's logistics units.

"The air cover was used in the attack," the New Light of Myanmar, a government mouthpiece, said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced concern on Wednesday over reports of helicopters and fighter jets being used in the state bordering China.

The KIA said the attacks were intended to clear the path for an assault on its headquarters in Laisa.

Mr Ban called on Burma's government to "desist from any action that could endanger the lives of civilians" and reiterated demands for humanitarian aid groups to be granted access.

President Thein Sein's quasi-civilian administration insists it wants a ceasefire and political dialogue. It says troops have acted only in self-defence and on Thursday denied having plans to seize the KIA's stronghold.

Dominant military

The escalation of fighting has raised doubts about the sincerity of the reformist ex-generals running the government.

Some analysts and diplomats say the central government is either not fully committed to peace with the KIA or unable to assert control over the military.

Colonel James Lum Dau, a Thai-based spokesman for the KIA's political wing, said Kachin officials on the ground had reported up to 300 people killed in air strikes.

"We are in a defensive position. Right now more people are suffering not only bombings, but shelling and spraying of chemical weapons with helicopter gunships and jets," he said. "Only god knows what to do. We are praying."

It is difficult for journalists to independently verify accounts from the two sides.

Fighting erupted in Kachin in June 2010, ending a 17-year truce, and has continued even as government negotiators have agreed ceasefires elsewhere with ethnic Shan, Chin, Mon and Karen militias after decades of fighting in border areas.